Finding Understanding Through Greater Degrees of Specificity
Talking in general terms about a topic never captures the full essence of what is happening because the terms are too broad. In the river a hole is not a hole, boaters for decades have been using this general term for several different hydraulic phenomenon. This is why we have to use greater degrees of specificity to drill down deeper and dig for a better understanding in adventure sports. Greater degrees of specificity help to understand a topic by breaking it down into smaller and more defined parts. By focusing on specific details, it becomes easier to comprehend the subject as a whole, because it provides a clearer picture of the relationships between different elements and how they fit together. Additionally, being more specific can also help to identify and eliminate any misunderstandings or ambiguities that may exist, leading to a deeper and more accurate understanding of the topic.
Using The Right Words
Understanding greater degrees of specificity can help an athlete become better by allowing for more targeted and effective training. By breaking down the sport into its individual components, an athlete can identify and focus on specific areas that need improvement. This can lead to a more effective training program, as well as a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. In whitewater boating being you can drill down deeper and deeper into specific topics to gain even more insight. For example: Navigation can be broken down into reading water and boat handling. Reading water can be further broken down into hydrology, which further breaks down to flow states, then hydraulic jumps, which further breaks down to the types of hydraulic jumps and their constituent parts.
By diving deeper and deeper into the topic you gain a greater understanding beyond common jargon that can help make informed decisions in training. One of the ways you can dive deeper is to understand if there are other words that can quantify concepts more accurately, or evaluate if the words you are using are too vague to accurately define a concept. If you are using words to define a river feature which are vague or unspecific you will not be able to accurately parse the data you are experiencing into information with words like: thing, pit, pocket, or current. By going deeper and more specific in the topic we learn that a hole is not a hole, but a hydraulic jump - which is a specific type of hydraulic feature which demands a greater degree of understanding to successfully navigate.
Addressing Skill Gaps
A more specific understanding of the sport can help an athlete to better analyze and understand their performance, as well as the performance of others. This can allow for more informed decision-making and strategy development, through team evaluation. Understanding who has skill gaps in specific areas can highlight what they can and cannot effectively execute in a team environment. If you know a team member has a skill gap in terms of effecting rescues and safety boating then having them set safety or be a safety boater is probably not the wisest choice. On the flip side of that you can help build that person up and train them to fill the role of safety boater if you know what exactly is holding them back, thus making any team they are on more effective. There are levels of specificity that can take people time to delve into, but remember that people also move at different paces so while one person may be excellent at reading water it may take another longer to master that process.
Logical vs Emotional Processing
Greater degrees of specificity lead to more informed decision-making and strategy development because they provide a clearer and more detailed picture of situational awareness. By breaking down a problem or challenge into smaller, more manageable parts, it becomes easier to analyze each component and understand its impact on the larger picture. This allows for a more thorough and comprehensive evaluation of the available options and information, leading to more informed and effective decision-making.
Placing the focus on specific tasks takes the problem someone is experiencing from being an overwhelming emotional process and replaces it with a logical process. If you are afraid of running a rapid over each time you encounter it, then it is helpful to understand why that fear exists. Drilling things down to apply deeper understanding of the type of rapid and river forces at play helps to put a name to the issue. When you can identify the issue, you are moving into a logical process. Fear often comes from the unknown, however if you have the words and the understanding of physics to properly identify what is happening on the water, you will be better equipped to process the rapid. If you understand that it is a big scary hole and everyone is afraid of it then that is raw data and it doesn’t mean anything. If you understand that it is a type B hydraulic jump that can flip your boat, but not keep you that creates a logical process which you can further drill down into the Bathymetry and hydrography to understand if there is a specific spot in the hydraulic jump that provides less resistance to allow you to punch through it.
Overall, greater degrees of specificity lead to more informed decision-making and strategy development by providing a clearer and more detailed picture of the situation, which in turn leads to a better understanding of the problem and the options available for addressing it. It is important to note that you can drill down too much if someone has little practical experience with a topic and it may take time for someone to master one specific topic. Also bear in mind it can be easy to identify skill gaps through fear, but it is critical that you have the patience to work through that process. Surround yourself with mentors and leaders who can help guide you on the process. Also, remember that one mark of mastery is being able to articulate the issue to another person so seek to understand well enough that you can share the knowledge with others.
